La Thanh Nhan PhD – Public Health Scientist
Dr. La Thanh Nhan is a public health researcher with more than 10 years of experience. He has participated in many projects encompassing different public health issues in Vietnam. He has made contribution to the overarching goal of improving the effectiveness of the health system and fostering evidence-based health policy and decision through expanding the knowledge base from diverse approaches, such as epidemiology, health system research, and information technology application.
Dr. Nhan is proficient in applying a wide range of research methods and statistical techniques, especially the regression frameworks. In addition to research, he has also actively engaged in activities contributing to health system strengthening, including policy advocacy, training and supervision, and consultancy.
Education
BA – Hanoi School of Public Health – 2006
PhD – The Pennsylvania State University – 2014
Research Interest:
Health system research
Non-communicable diseases
Evidence-based health policy
Demography
Selected Research Projects
Vietnam Mental Health Atlas (2015-2016). Role: Principal Investigator.
This project developed an online platform to geospatially visualize and share data of the performance of the mental health system in Vietnam. It also examined, at the pilot scale the usability and acceptability of the website.
Vietnam Mental Health Taskforce (2011-2015). Sponsor: The Atlantic Philanthropies via the University of Melbourne. Role: Research Fellow.
This project aimed to develop the leadership capacity of professionals and managers of mental health system in Vietnam. It encompassed a range of activities, including mental health leadership training, policy advocacy, demonstration studies on fostered integration of mental health into the health care system, and national survey of mental health facilities.
Epidemiological survey of common mental health disorders in socio-economic regions of Vietnam (2012-2015). Sponsor: Ministry of Health of Vietnam. Role: Co-investigator
This project conducted a survey on 10 common mental disorders in community in 8 socio-economic regions of Vietnam.
Selected Publications
Minas, H., Edington, C., La., N. T., & Kakuma, R. (2017). Mental health in Vietnam. In H. Minas & M. Lewis (Eds.), Mental health in Asia and the Pacific: Historical and cultural perspectives. Springer: New York.
Le, G. M., La, N. T., Pham, M. P., Lung, N. B., & Tran, H. M. (2015). Development, contributions and challenges of social organizations in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Vietnam. Report to The Global Fund HIV/AIDS Control Project
La, C. D., Tran, H. T., La, N. T., et al. (2015). Epidemiological survey of common mental health disorders in socio-economic regions of Vietnam (2012-2015). Report to Vietnam Ministry of Health.
La, N. T., Than, P. T., Minas, H., Nguyen, N. T. H., & La, C. D. (under review). Development and pilot evaluation of an atlas website for visualizing and sharing the national mental health system data in Vietnam.